Michael Jocson Physiotherapy is a health and wellness consulting practice in NYC, utilizing physical therapy, corrective exercise, nutrition, life coaching, and energy medicine. This blog is to provide updates for clients/patients and other thoughts to help them heal and evolve.

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Pediasure and the Illusion of Healthy Nutrition for Our Children

Recently I observed some kids having a snack drinking a bottle of Pediasure which brought back memories of when I used to work in the hospital and patients were given the adult version of Pediasure (Ensure) to assist in their recovery. One would think that this stuff must be good for you if they exclusively serve it to hospital patients, right? I call major stinking bullshit on this. Anyone can read the ingredients of these products and quickly get an idea that 1) there’s a lot of sugar (which is listed as the second ingredient) and 2) what are all these big and fancy words? These products contain synthetic isolates of nutrients made in a lab and nowhere in Nature. This means that Man tried to be like God and make a new and improved version of food. This might work if we were simply robots and a mechanical approach to our function was the answer but obviously we as Humans are much more than machines that require isolates of nutrition. The food we eat, the whole foods as they come from Nature, are complexes of nutrients that work synergistically to sustain our life experience. For example, Vitamin C is not one nutrient called ascorbic acid; it’s actually a complex called a fruit such as an orange. It was thought that it was a single ingredient that was responsible for a particular effect; but it is now known that each ingredient works with the greater whole. Our bodies will do what they can with synthetic isolates but over time there’s just so much it can withstand and when physical and mental symptoms manifest, it’s the body crying out for help.

With children, their bodies are growing and very resilient to consuming poor quality food. Of course it won’t kill them right away and yes, their bodies will do its best with the poor quality nutrition but the point is if more parents were aware of how they can help their kids by simply making more conscious choices in their children’s diets, most would change. But then again, this may force them to rethink about their own beliefs on what is healthy and many may not have the health reserves to do so. In fact, most parents who feed Pediasure to their kids already think they are doing their kids a service by giving them this stuff because it’s “recommended by pediatricians”. This is where conditioning from advertisements, marketing, and corporate alliances and sponsorships educate the public and influence their choices with regards to health. From the evidence of the rise in childhood obesity, food allergies, autism, juvenile diabetes, and ADHD, there may be a link to the processed food that is marketed to our kids and these conditions.

Pediasure contains milk concentrates and soy protein isolates which are cheap forms of protein. It also contains synthetic vitamins and minerals along with other preservatives and food colorings. And let us not forget the cheap fats such as soy oil and safflower oil which by the way tend to go rancid which would explain the preservatives. What ever happened to giving our kids whole foods? Most kids are already desensitized to the natural sweetness of ripe produce and the wholesomeness of a home-made, prepared meal because 1) growing up with processed food and 2) that’s what the mother ate while pregnant and that’s what the parents still eat, and 3) from the billions of dollars spent on advertising targeting children – the minds are held captive as slaves to society’s beliefs. For most of us in these modern times we grew up eating processed food and fast food and we seem to be okay, right? But the truth is that for many of us we didn’t start to change our diet and nutrition habits until we started to feel unhealthy, overweight, sick, or depressed.

So why should we have our kids repeat the cycle? If we start being more aware and challenge rather than passively accept our beliefs on health, don’t you think our kids wouldn’t be too far behind following us? Just because you grew up believing something to be true does not mean it is true for you as an adult. And the same goes for your children. We always have a choice when it comes to matters of our life experience and thus our health.

I'm so glad I found this post. My toddler is in her non-eating phase and I was really like "Maybe I should try PediaSure." But we severely limit her processed foods so I wanted to do some research first... No way is this bottle of chemicals getting ingested by my kid!

I know it's been a long time, but I was researching to see if I wanted to buy ensure/pediasure. I'm about get my bachelor's in Biochemistry and go to grad school. My advice...don't jump to conclusions about ingredients with long names, BIOTIN, m-INOSITOL, etc, etc. Most if not all of those you listed are naturally found in the body and necessary for proper nutrition.

Hi, I had given pediasure to my daughter bet age 2 and 5.during that time every other day she used to have stomach upsets. Unfortunately I didn't associate with pediasure.The weight gain also was alarming. I stopped when I realised that. She is 9 now and even today her tummy and chest fat hasn't gone inspite of her heavy sports activities. She eats healthy and avoids junk food. Still controlling her weight is a challenge. I really regret giving pediasure.

My daughter has a rare muscle disease. She has poor feeding and therefore has a feeding tube. Pediasure is her only source of nutrition. Without it she would starve. She is on the growth chart now and otherwise healthy because of it. Thank goodness for pediasure.

Are you people serious!, thank god for pediasure..how about thank god for raw milk...poor feeding, she probably has gut issues and candida from all the sugar. Eat what your ancestors ate, not what scientists design for a warehouse. Those parents whose kids have eating problems, simply are taking a "shortcut" by feeding them canned nutrition...what!?! That is beyond lazy. Pick up a book (nourishing traditions), google epigenetics and get educated. The fact is..your kid won't show the effects till much later. I'm 30, I have autoimmune disease, heavy metal poisoning, systematic candida, and multiple food allergies. I was a "healthy" child to today's standards. Processed foods are crap for kids. Parents know better but just dont want to take the time to prepare something nutritious. If she can do pediasure, then she could easily do a raw milk shake, kefir, or rejuvelac. Quit making excuses and listening to these drs who know nothing about nutrition. Do your own research. My favorite site is thehealthyhomeeconomist.com

I'm here because I have a 2-year-old who barely eats a thing. Some days he'll have a little yogurt and that's about it -- along with milk. I WANT to feed him good quality food, but he refuses to eat. I was hoping PediaSure would be an alternative to get some nutrition in him, but it doesn't sound like the way to go. I try to eat clean, myself, so I doubted it would be a good choice.

Speak of facts of which you are sure of. You claim that parent take short cuts. Sure some do... Most others give them a balanced diet with proper wholesome foods yet the kid still refuses to eat.

YES! Pediasure works as a suppliment for kids with poor eating habits. Its not be all of foods.

So before you the AUTHOR go around making such irresponsible claims, as this has worked for countless kids who have dietary probs and parents going the extra mile.

Yes, many things out there are bad for kids, but parents do not intentionally feed kids crap. If you are that well versed on foods.. pls, do tell what alternatives are there for kids who REFUSE to eat?

FYI - not all natural wholesome foods are meant for kids as their bodies are not capable of digesting it.

I can go on and on... bottom line. This stuff WORKS as a SUPPLEMENT in a controlled manner. Not as a cheap ticket out.

Hi,What about going to Trader Joe's or a similar place and getting some pure fluids like carrot juice, cranberry juice, pineapple etc? Why not give them real peanut butter (only peanuts in there and maybe salt optional) like Kroger's brand which is NOT expensive and is NOT crap like Skippy or Jiff? There's Smuckers/Laura Scudders peanut butter too but much more costly then Krogers (sold by Ralph's, Smith, Kroger). Put it on celery if they'll eat it or on a whole grain cracker. Add OJ to their diet that is NOT from concentrate like Tropicana (I use to drink Simply but heard they add flavors to the oranges BEFORE squeezing). Trader Joe's has an organic drinkable yogurt in a 4 pack this isn't too bad too if they prefer to drink, not eat. Feel free to contact me if you want more nutrition suggestions anais.nia@msn.com. Good luck to all! Anais

My son has been on a feeding tube for 7 years now and he was on the processed can formulas and now we blend his food he gets Whole Foods and he is much healthier.is there a reason why your daughter Has to be on Pediasure is it possible that you can blend real food or is it that she is allergic to so much or just cannot process food?I hope you don't mind me asking

I agree with the author. Pediasure may be the ideal thing for some parents to use when baby decides not to eat but if you look in a book and do a little extra research you can and will find some fun and healthier alternatives for the picky babe. cutting raw veggies and fruits into funny shapes and sizes playing food games make it interesting and offer rewards to trick babe into eating is also nice. i have a two yr old and sometimes all i have to do is simply say please and the kid will take a bite.lol yes corny but true singing songs, watching tv while eating can be good or bad. Good thing is that he is distracted and not noticing that im shoveling food in the hole. etc. My older ones also refused or tried to but im smarter than a 5 th grader when it comes to eating and feeding. Its all about being craftier and smarter than your toddler people!!!

I find this article very judgmental of parents and fails to address several issues which parents could be facing.

At one point it seems to class the parent or guardian as some gibbering idiot who blindly follows the advice of doctors blindly, and worse still marketing companies. Hinting that parents are just too lazy to take the time to cook whole foods for our children.

In my own case, my daughter of four years had a choking incident with a potato crisp which made her very distressed and caused her to vomit. Since that time (some five weeks later), she had given up on ALL foods, and even the sight of a grape caused her to recoil and become extremely distressed.

After much anguish and dismay, we were able to give her pediasure (two bottles per day), at which point her toileting became regular and healthy and slowly but surely we were able to re-introduce things such as tomato soup (it being compared to the milk drink) ie no bits or lumps.

Our little one has since gained weight back and has even progressed to roast beef and mashed potatos.

So yes, maybe it has it's drawbacks (fluoride etc), but for us I can honestly say it probably saved us from a real dire situation and/or further psychological stress.

I for one am glad this product exists and as a short term solution to re-establishing proper eating, then I must say please don't feel guilty if you feel your child needs this suppliment to stop any developing malnutrition. Do it and without further delay.

My son is having problem with his kidneys. He is eliminating protein in the urine. A friend of mine told me that the problem was caused by too much pediasure. I didn't heard any side effect with this drink and he have been taking it for 3 years. Maybe that is why he is sick now. I am not a doctor, but it makes sense that the kidneys have to work more when you take pediasure plus the regular food. In fact, my son is eliminating protein and his hemoblobin still perfect! Hmmm, what do you think about this?

Logically speaking, there are parents who don't have time to prepare fresh food and feed it to their kids, Pediasure and other packaged food are for such parents. If kids are fed basic nutritional elements (Carbohydrates, Protein, Minerals, Vitamins, Fats, and Water) through natural and fresh food, they will grow physically and mentally as per their natural ability; not every kid can become a perfect image of their parent's imagination.

I believe we parents should do what's best for the kids as naturally as possible and let them live their life without pressure. Stay Happy Stay Healthy. Spend time with your kids. Take them out and tire them out in physical activities so they digest food, drink more water and demand for more. Sitting in front of TV or on couch playing with tabs and mobiles won't digest food.

I've been telling people this for a long time. I don't understand why they can't read the labels and tell that all those chemicals don't come in real food! I even told them about the conspiracy that the government and Monsanto agreed upon. GMO foods do not have to be labeled. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and other harmful ingredients do not have to be spelled out on the label. They can just call them spices. Whenever I see "spices" on the label I know they are hiding some product that is harmful to our health.

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About Me

Michael practices health consulting and runs his practice out of Physique in the Union Square/Greenwich Village area in NYC. His professional background started with physical therapy in 1996 with an emphasis in orthopedic manual physical therapy and evolved through the fields of fitness/wellness and nutrition as a CHEK Practitioner and into the world of energy medicine through shamanism. The reality is that there's no words to actually describe and limit what he does other than consulting others to regain health; with health being referred to as a dynamic wholeness. Michael is available for consultations in person or over the phone as well as for pain management and neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation services utilizing manual therapy, neurosomatic needling, corrective exercise, and movement therapy. Personal Training services are also available. Fees: $200/hour at Physique, 58 E. 11th St, 4th fl, NY, NY.
Got insurance? Michael may be able to provide physical therapy services as an in-network provider as well as out-of-network depending on your insurance plan. Questions? Just ask at mjocs@aol.com.